Donald Trump puts PM in a pickle with Nigel Farage tweet

Trump’s tweet has also helped to shift the spotlight away from allegations that Ukip misspent European funding.

Donald Trump has engineered a major public disagreement with Theresa May by backing Ukip leader Nigel Farage to be the next British ambassador to America.

In a highly unusual move, the president elect tweeted his support for the Ukip overnight, saying he would do a "great job":

The hostile act put the PM in the extremely awkward position of having to reject the president elect’s proposal.

A Downing Street spokesperson responded to Trump's tweet, saying: "There is no vacancy. We have an excellent ambassador to the US."

Trump’s tweet also massively undermined the authority of Britain’s current ambassador to Washington, Sir Kim Darroch.

And it has provided yet another boost to Farage – just as Ukip faces allegations that it misspent European funding.

The Electoral Commission announced this morning that is launching an investigation into whether Ukip broke election funding laws by using money from a European parliament group to fund Farage’s failed attempt to win a seat and during the Brexit referendum.

But this morning Farage appeared to be more interested in promoting Trump’s tweet than responding to news of the Electoral Commission’s probe.

Many people would like to see @Nigel_Farage represent Great Britain as their Ambassador to the United States. He would do a great job!